President Obama will send a video to the 19th International AIDS Conference next week but won't attend in person, the Washington Blade reports:

In a notice issued on Monday, the White House announced that Obama is set to provide a brief video message for the conference, which will take place next week in D.C., as part of “[c]ontinuing his personal engagement on this issue.” Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, confirmed this video message will be in lieu of a live appearance at the event.

“The president will not be speaking at the conference,” Inouye said. “He will provide a brief video message to welcome Conference attendees from around the world to Washington.”

Other high-ranking administration officials are set to attend the event, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius; U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby; Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy Grant Colfax; and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.

Past presidents will make an appearance at the conference: former President Clinton is slated to speak as well as former President George W. Bush, who set up the fund known as U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and former first lady Laura Bush.

Latest Posts

﻿ Omarosa Manigault did not go quietly after she was fired as director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison. Earlier reports that she had resigned are reportedly not true. According to CBS News, she was fired by White House… Read

Bermuda’s Senate today approved a bill that will take marriage rights away from gay people, following the House’s approval earlier this week. All that remains is for the governor to sign it. The AP reports: Senators approved the Domestic… Read

Lawmakers in England are working to ban hate preacher Franklin Graham from entering the country. Graham – who receives an annual salary of $620,000 from Samaritan’s Purse – is booked to appear at the Lancashire Festival of Hope in Blackpo… Read

MO BROOKS. Congressman who defended Republicans’ plan to allow insurance companies to discriminate against people who have preexisting conditions, which he characterized as personal failings, announces he has prostate cancer. Martha and I are extreme… Read

Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker has said that the Trump administration has “put forth an all-out assault on the LGBTQ community.” "This administration has put forth an all-out assault on the LGBTQ community," Senator @CoryBooker s… Read

Joe Biden, who lost his son Beau to the same type of aggressive cancer as Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is battling, comforted McCain’s daughter Meghan, now a co-host on The View, when she began crying after addressing the issue on Wednesday… Read

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently apologized on behalf of the Canadian government for its persecution of gays and lesbians, simultaneously announcing financial reparations for those whose lives had been ruined, to the tune of more than $100 mill… Read

A drag queen claims she was turned denied entry to a Mariah Carey Christmas concert in London on Monday because of her outfit. Coral Deville said that despite having tickets, she was refused entry to the concert at London’s O2 Arena because she was d… Read

Former Apprentice contestant Omarosa Manigault Newman is leaving her position at the White House, though no one knew quite what she did there. Her official title was director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison. Manigault N… Read

2017 wasn’t quite as dramatic as 2016 in terms of legends lost but there were plenty of exciting new releases across genres. This list aims to include relevant releases from mainstream, indie and possibly obscure artists. Spotify play counts ar… Read